Blogs

Article

Insects & Torn Edges

Thursday, April 8, 2021

I needed to find subject matter that would interest my eighth-graders and, at the same time, utilize the natural torn edges of roofing felt. The irregular shape seemed ripe for some form of nature stu ...

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Article

Interpreting Destruction

Thursday, April 8, 2021

Students were asked to investigate ten disastrous events that changed the world for which humans were responsible. They could choose anything from war and famine to oil spills or wildfires, contempora ...

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Article

Editor's Letter: Nature

Thursday, April 8, 2021

Is there any greater source of inspiration for artists than that of the natural world? No matter where you live, you live within a natural environment that has its own unique characteristics of climat ...

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Curator's Corner

Spring Is in the Air: Xia Chang

Monday, April 5, 2021 | Karl Cole

Please come on spring, that’s what I say! And what better way to anticipate the blooming and blossoming than a gorgeous impression of early spring? ...

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Curator's Corner

Women's (Art) History Month: Vera Klement

Monday, March 29, 2021 | Karl Cole

I have always been fascinated by how progressive (i.e., abstract) styles have continually found their footing as a counterpoint to the pervasive tradition of realism in American art since the early 19 ...

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Curator's Corner

Women's (Art) History Month: Erika Blumenfeld

Monday, March 22, 2021 | Karl Cole

Women’s Art History Month continues with a look at an artist who has a totally unique body of work, pursuing with photography what artists have done since its inception in the 1840s: the use of ...

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Curator's Corner

Women's (Art) History Month: Isabel Bishop

Monday, March 15, 2021 | Karl Cole

If anyone documented the human (women’s) condition extensively, it was artist Isabel Bishop. Her sensitive paintings and prints of working women during the Great Depression (1929–1940) and ...

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Curator's Corner

Women's (Art) History Month: Sofonisba Anguissola

Monday, March 8, 2021 | Karl Cole

Although there are records of women artists from antiquity, women artists between the 1400s and 1700s in the West were either considered anomalies or miracles. The advent of artists' guilds during the ...

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Article

Fun and Function

Thursday, March 4, 2021

Having a great idea is one thing, turning it into a successful project is another. This was all uncharted territory, so questions abounded: How do I go about obtaining enough blank, white expandable p ...

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Article

The Comedian

Thursday, March 4, 2021

When I came upon the 2019 artwork called The Comedian by Maurizio Cattelan, I knew I had to share it with my students. Essentially, The Comedian is a banana duct-taped to a gallery wall. On the surfac ...

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Article

Yayoi Kusama & Notan Mashup

Thursday, March 4, 2021

The primary focus of my elementary art curriculum is contemporary art, but I still connect the present with concepts or artists from the past to reinforce how the latter informs the former. One exampl ...

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Article

Editor's Letter: Contemporary Art

Thursday, March 4, 2021

Contemporary art is vibrant, diverse, exciting, and engaging. It can help you introduce more diverse, living, global artists to your students and spark meaningful discussions. However, many art teache ...

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Article

The Mindful Studio: Drawing

Thursday, March 4, 2021

Drawing teaches students to observe their environment and learn to see what is right before them. Students are often fearful of drawing because they have preconceived notions of exceptional realism th ...

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Curator's Corner

A Great Art Teacher: Alice Tavani

Monday, March 1, 2021 | Karl Cole

The annual National Art Education Association (NAEA) convention is later this week—held virtually this year—and it's the start of Women's History Month, so I’m introducing you to a d ...

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Davis Desk

Understanding, Ideas, Information, Personal Learning Networks = Valuable Tools

Wednesday, February 24, 2021 | Laura & Matt Grundler, The Creativity Department

This month we are excited to share a post from our partners The Creativity Department / K12ArtChat. You can also read this post directly from their website by using this link. In addition to the reso ...

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Curator's Corner

Black History Month: Hughie Lee-Smith

Monday, February 15, 2021 | Karl Cole

For my ongoing celebration of African American History month, let’s honor the life and work of Hughie Lee-Smith. He was one of many artists who matured during the Harlem Renaissance (1918– ...

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